Full Circle
by Dhamphir
Summary: Aang is broken after his failure during the eclipse. His friends and the world have abandoned him. The only way he can restore balance to the world and himself lies in the forgotten fifth element. But the journey to bring its power back will not be easy..
1. Chapter 1: Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All recognizable characters and settings are, regretfully, someone else's property. The fifth element, the Lost Temple, and any original characters are mine.

This is a potential Taang, with a Zuko/OC somewhere down the line. I'm not sure what pairings I want to have yet

_SOKKA AND KATARA ARE NOT GOING TO BE NICE!! IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT IDEA, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS FIC!!_

Beta'd by my good friend The Red Bird!

* * *

"_Aang, focus!! The eclipse will be here in less than a week!! The fate of this world depends on YOU!! You and your ability to master the elements!!"_

_Aang gritted his teeth and tried again to make the small flame, borrowed from their campfire, follow his motions as he went through an offensive pattern. But due to Katara's continued yelling, all he managed to do was singe the sleeve of his tunic. Again. With a sigh, the small boy allowed the fire to return and whipped his glider open. He needed time to think. _

"_Firelord Ozai!! Where are you!!" The day of the Black Sun was almost over. Aang and those loyal to him had been wandering aimlessly about the Firelord's palace. They had yet to encounter a soul. _

_Time was up. Aang watched with tear-filled grey eyes as the moon shifted, allowing the sunlight to return. He had failed. _

_He dreamt he was falling. Endlessly, unable to see anything but blackness. Unable to stop the fall. Unable to stop the voices…the accusations…the reminders. _

"_This was your destiny, Aang!! You were supposed to save us!!" Katara's voice said accusingly in his head. _

"_We lost our father AGAIN because of you!! And you couldn't even save him!! You couldn't save anyone!!" Sokka continued where his sister left off. _

"_Face it, Twinkle Toes. You're weak. You're pathetic. I wish I had never agreed to teach you!!" Toph screamed. _

"_My honor isn't worth chasing down a boy who can't even master the elements." Prince Zuko's voice sneered. _

"_We were counting on you, Avatar!" _

"_One hundred years we hoped for you while you were safe and in hiding!" _

"_You've failed us! You've failed this planet!" _

"_You betrayed us Avatar!" _

"_No! I'm sorry! Please…I tried as hard as I could! I tried to save you!" Aang screamed, covering his ears. But the voices didn't go away. _

"_And now there won't be a world left to save!" _

* * *

Aang jerked awake with a gasp, hastily muffling the sound with his hand lest his "friends" hear it. The young Avatar lay still for a moment, letting reality return.

It had been nearly a month since his failure on the day of the eclipse. With time against them, there had been only one chance: he had to defeat the Firelord with his own element. But when he needed it most, his firebending had failed.

They had barely gotten out of the palace alive. The Firelord had been pursuing mercilessly, tracking the Avatar and those loyal to him, forcing them deep into the wilderness north of the Earth Kingdom. Even Toph no longer knew where exactly they were.

Since his failure, things had changed. Katara was no longer the sweet, loving girl she had once been. She was harsh, cruel and cynical, with a biting remark for everything Aang did. And Sokka wasn't much better. The siblings from the Southern Water Tribe had made it clear that the only reason they still followed him was because they had nowhere else to go with their father imprisoned and their village destroyed, things they made sure to bring up frequently.

Only Toph, brave, powerful Toph, was still loyal to him. The Bei-Fong warrior had made it clear that should the siblings continue with their behavior, they would find themselves sealed in rock for good. That didn't stop them though: they waited until the all-hearing earthbender was asleep to start in on Aang.

Aang glanced around: to his far left, he could just barely see Katara's form, huddled close to the dying campfire. Sokka slept next to his sister, body turned towards her protectively. Toph and Aang had spread their bedrolls on the opposite side of the fire. It made the Avatar sad to see what they had been reduced to: drawing lines like enemies during war, rather than the friends they were supposed to be.

_We've been through so much. How can they abandon me now?_

Small fingers raked back a mop of brown hair that was quickly becoming scruffy. Matted with dirt, leaves, and dried blood, not to mention badly in need of a trim, it was quickly becoming a mess. But at least it hid the distinctive blue arrow tattooed on the Avatar's forehead. Another pang of sadness went through the young boy. Marks he once bore so proudly he was now relieved to see disappear.

Very slowly, Aang rolled over onto his other side, focusing on his breathing as he curled in upon himself. He tried to imagine all the negativity inside him leaving with each gust of air he expelled. Some hours later, he drifted into an uneasy slumber.

"_Aang…" _

_The young boy squinted his closed eyes. He knew that voice. He had heard it before. But it couldn't be speaking to him. None of the voices directed his way were that gentle. _

"_Aang…" it said again, persistent. The one being addressed did his best to drown it out: he was comfortable and, for the first time in a long time, the voices and their accusations were silent. _

"_You must listen to us, my child." Said a different voice that was no less gentle than the first. _

_Reluctantly, the Avatar opened his eyes and sat up, blinking in surprise. He was sitting in the midst of a field of flowers that were such a deep shade of purple they were nearly black. For some reason, the sight of them soothed him and he reached out to run his fingers along the satiny petals of one blossom. _

"_Aang," finally he looked up, acknowledging the voices that had called him into awareness. _

_A familiar, wizened form met his bewildered gaze. "Avatar Roku!" The young airbender scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply to his predecessor. _

"_Aang, listen to me. There is hope yet. There is still time for you to accomplish what you were meant to do." The firebender said in his soft, wise voice. _

"_But how? I've failed to master firebending, and now the eclipse has passed…" Aang trailed off uncertainly when Roku raised a hand. _

"_There is still a way, Aang. But it will be difficult, and it will take time." The older man's voice turned cautioning at the end. _

"_Whatever it is, I'll do it. I owe this world a debt that must be repaid." The younger one's eyes glinted with a determination they had lacked since the day of the Black Sun. _

"_Then listen carefully, Aang. The way to defeat Ozai, the Fire Nation, and your own fears lies in the fifth element." _

"_There is no fifth element," Aang cut in, already confused. _

"_There is, Aang, I assure you. But it is not one that man can manipulate, and therefore knowledge of it has been lost. If you can discover the secrets of the fifth element's power, you will find the key to defeating the Fire Nation, and your fears as well." Roku spoke patiently, giving the young one time to digest the news he brought. _

"_How can I find something that has been forgotten?" Aang asked quietly. _

"_Not all have forgotten the fifth element. And those who once worshipped its power left pieces of its secrets scattered about this world. Put together, the pieces of the puzzle will lead you to the lost temple where the fifth element is still revered. There, you will find the key to your victory." _

"_But that's all so vague. Where would I even begin? How will I know a clue when I see one?" Aang was growing more and more despondent as Roku's explanation wore on. _

"_Return to your home at the Southern Air Temple. Begin there. You will find the first piece of the puzzle in the place where you were most at home, and the least welcomed during your time there." _

_Aang frowned, confused by the seeming contradiction. "What is the fifth element anyway?"_

"_The answer will reveal itself along the way." Roku was beginning to fade into mist and Aang knew his time was almost up. _

"_But Avatar Roku, what if I fail again? What if I can't find the lost temple, or find all the puzzle pieces?" Aang asked desperately. _

"_You must not fail, Aang. This world, and its balance, depend upon you. It is up to you to return knowledge of the fifth element to this world and with it, restore balance once and for all. I have faith in you." With a kind smile, Roku faded from Aang's view, leaving the young Airbender surrounded by mists. _

_From out of them, the gentle voice from earlier spoke again. It was a woman's voice, a voice that made Aang feel safe, protected, powerful. A mother's voice. _

"_We will meet again soon, Aang…" _

* * *

Aang awoke more slowly this time, rolling onto his back and giving a long stretch before his eyes even opened. He was met by the sight of the lightening sky. Dawn was coming.

For a long moment he lay still, turning Avatar Roku's words over in his mind. The more he thought, the more sense they made. He could sense the absence of the fifth element: like a hole somewhere deep inside him: preventing him from coming fully into balance. He knew on some deep, intuitive level that until he had unearthed it and united himself with its power, he would not be able to defeat Firelord Ozai.

He also knew that if he did not leave soon, the only chance he had would be gone. Moving quietly, Aang secured his bedroll and moved to saddle Appa, his faithful companion through all of their many trials. Momo awakened from his burrow atop the flying bison's head and chattered sleepily.

"Shh," the Avatar held a finger up to his lips and smiled when the lemur imitated him with another chittery noise that somehow made it clear that he understood. Aang secured his bedroll and turned to the bag of supplies. He gathered a hanful of lici nuts, and another of dried berries and a few strips of tough, cured meat. Somehow he sensed that he needed to go for long-lasting over good-tasting.

The young airbender sadly cast his eyes over the forms of Katara and Sokka, still oblivious in sleep. It broke his heart that his first friends, the ones to awaken him, had fallen so far. So far that he had to leave them behind.

When he was sure that everything was ready he went over and shook Toph gently awake. The earthbender opened her eyes, sightless gaze zeroing in on Aang exactly. Using the sixth sense she seemed to possess, she nodded her head at his unspoken plea of silence on her part.

Minutes later the two of them flew away, leaving the siblings sleeping in blissful ignorance, and turned so that the rising sun was at their left shoulders. They would begin their search with the Air Temples.

As he gripped Appa's reins tightly, the last of the airbenders sent up a silent prayer that this time, he would not fail.

* * *

And there you have Chapter 1!! Reviews are lovely and highly encouraged. Let me know what you think and if I should continue!!


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

Note: Thank you to the people who have reviewed this already

Note: Thank you to the people who have reviewed this already. It really gave me the confidence to post the next chapter so quickly!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters, settings, or anything else. They belong to someone else. I do own the idea for this story, and any original characters or settings.

Decided that this will be a Taang story, though that will happen _way _later. Zuko/OC is still up for debate

As always, thanks to my wonderful beta and good friend, The Red Bird!

And now on with the chapter!

* * *

It was the silence that woke Katara the next morning.

As soon as she came awake, the teenage waterbender knew something wasn't right. It was late morning; it always was when she awoke; and yet there was no sound. No Momo chittering at her from one of the many trees. No Appa groaning as he awoke. No whispered conversations between Aang and Toph. Nothing.

Slowly, Katara sat up and rubbed her sleep-filled eyes. When she finally opened them, her jaw dropped in shock. Aang was gone.

His bedroll was no longer spread on the ground on the opposite side of the fire. His glider no longer leaned against the tree closest to where he slept. And worst of all, Appa, their means of transportation, was gone too.

Fury began to build inside the young woman and she clenched her fists. _How dare he?! How dare he leave US behind?! We're his best friends!!_

"Sokka." She said through clenched teeth. As expected, no answer was forthcoming from her brother. He remained asleep, oblivious to the fact that they were now up the creek without a paddle, both literally and figuratively. That only served to make Katara angrier and she delivered a swift, hard kick to the middle of Sokka's back.

"YEAOWW!! Katara, what was that for?" He whined, cracking one blue eye open to glare at his younger sister and reaching back with one hand to rub his back.

"Get up, you lazy oaf. The great _Avatar _has left us here." Came the clipped response from the waterbender.

"He _what?!"_ Sokka scrambled clumsily out of his sleeping bag, a sight that would once have amused his sister. Now it just annoyed her.

"Take a look around, Sokka. What do you see? Or, rather, what is missing?" Katara waved her arm in a wide circle, including the entirety of their campsite in her gesture.

Still sluggish with sleep, Sokka turned on the spot. The first thing he noticed was the silence. "Momo is gone…" he said rather sadly. He still harbored a not-so-secret desire to eat the cheerful lemur, especially now, when their supplies were so scarce.

"Forget about the stupid lemur!! What else is missing?!" Katara was resisting the urge to waterbend her stupid brother into next week. Cowed by his sister's obviously thin hold on her temper, the Water Tribe boy resumed his survey of the campsite.

"Aang and Toph's things are both gone." He reported.

Katara snapped out of her anger at her brother and spun to face the campfire pit, looking at the area that had once been directly behind her. She could see the impression in the ground where Toph's bedroll had been, but now it was gone, and so was the blind earthbender.

A strangled scream escaped her. "How _dare _he!!" She hissed, clenching her fists tightly at her sides. "How _dare _he leave _us, his friends, _but take that…that…dirty little _earth loving child!!" _

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to anger his sister further but at the same time knowing exactly how Aang could have left them behind. "I don't know. It doesn't matter right now what he was thinking. What matters is getting out of here." He said and paused: for once, he was being the sensible one. He was in control, and his sister wasn't. How often did _that _happen?!

"What?!" Katara snapped, half turning to face him.

"Katara, we're out in the middle of the wilderness with only a little water and food. We have no choice. We have to head for civilization." Sokka said patiently.

For a brief moment, the old Katara returned and worry flashed through her grey eyes. "What about the Firelord? He'll try to get us to tell him where Aang is!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, he will. And when we tell him that the Avatar abandoned us out here, we'll probably be imprisoned as traitors. But we'll be safer there than here."

Katara also felt a brief flash of surprise at this new, rational Sokka. Apparently swordplay wasn't the only thing he had learned from the master. Before she could ask where it had come from, Sokka was walking away, heading for the two large bags of supplies that, thankfully, still lay in the shade of a massive old tree.

"He took most of the lici nuts and the berries. Most of our dried meat is gone and so is one of our waterskins." Her brother reported.

Katara ground her teeth against her anger at the Avatar. It was bad enough that he had abandoned his friends, but he had abandoned them _and _stolen from them!

_Never mind that it was his money that paid for the supplies. _A little nagging voice in the back of her mind said. The waterbender silenced it roughly.

Sokka came back and handed her the lighter of the two supply packs, shouldering the heavier one along with his sword and bending down to roll up his sleeping bag. "We should get moving. If we start now we can make it at least ten miles by dark. If we're really lucky I'll find something edible along the way." He said, not looking at his sister as she huffed and imitated his actions. In his heart of hearts, Sokka was feeling rather guilty.

As the siblings set off, Sokka hung back, casting one last glance at the remnants of their campsite. _Aang. You had every right to leave us behind. I'm sorry. I know you did your best. _

Wishing these thoughts could reach his younger friend, Sokka turned and followed his sister into the wilderness.

* * *

Dawn broke, turning the sky a shade of pale pink and washing Aang and Toph in the light and heat of the sun. Automatically, Aang guided Appa higher into the clouds, lest they be spotted.

The two had been silent since leaving the campsite. Toph sat to his right, not appearing to need an explanation for why they had run away so suddenly. Aang was grateful for that; grateful to have at least one person who did not constantly want something from him.

"I had a dream last night," the Avatar began hesitantly.

Toph smiled very slightly, though she kept her gaze, so to speak, straight ahead. "I know. I heard your pleas to be left alone," she answered, for once not teasing her friend about his nightmares.

"Not that kind of dream. I saw Avatar Roku. He told me that I still have a chance to restore balance to the world." Aang said.

"How? The eclipse has passed. The Firelord is nearly invincible now." Toph spoke bluntly, seeing no reason to sugarcoat the truth.

"Roku told me that the key to restoring balance lies in the fifth element." Surprisingly, there was no protest from his companion, and Aang turned a confused glance her way.

Toph felt it. "I remember being told stories about a time when there were five elements. But the fifth one was forgotten. Not even the lore masters in Ba Sing Sei could remember its name or what its power was, only that it was great." She explained.

Aang nodded; sometimes he forgot that Toph came from a royal family and therefore had access to knowledge most people didn't. She seemed so much like him, it was easy to forget.

"Well, Roku told me that I have to find it. He said that there are clues hidden all over the world, showing the way to the last temple of the fifth element. I have to go there. And I have to master the fifth element and use its power to restore balance in myself," the words surprised him, but somehow he knew they were right even as he said them, "and then the world."

Toph nodded once, accepting all that he had said. She did not question his dreams; she knew that Avatar Roku had spoken the truth. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that the ancient firebender was right. "Where do we start?" She asked.

Aang smiled, really smiled, for the first time since the eclipse. "The Southern Air Temple. Roku said that since I grew up there, I know it best. The clue will be easiest to find there." OK, so Roku hadn't _exactly _said that. But he had said something similar.

Silence fell again and wasn't broken for many long minutes. When she did break it, Toph's voice was teasing.

"Doesn't this thing go any _faster, _Twinkle Toes?!" She asked.

Aang's laugh and cry of "Yip, yip" echoed in the early morning silence.

* * *

So I've decided that Zuko will enter the picture next chapter, rather than in this one.

I think one of the siblings should have a change of heart. Should it be Sokka or Katara? Let me know what you think!

Again, reviews are lovely and the more reviews I get the faster I'll update!

See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Promises

Sorry about the false update emails a lot of you probably got!! I was trying to use a friend's computer, which had Vista. Let's just say that didn't quite work...

Anyway, here's Chapter 3! This is essentially setting up Chapter 4: it's all flashback

**Warning: Contains Boiling Rock spoilers!**

Disclaimer: Still don't own Avatar. All recognizable characters and settings belong to someone else. All original characters, settings, and the idea for this story belong to me.

Special thank-you to my wonderful Beta, The Red Bird!

Enjoy!

* * *

"_Zuko, hold on a moment." Sokka extended a hand, laying it on the arm of the recently restored Fire Nation royal. Zuko turned back with a curious look on his face. _

"_Where…" Sokka paused, and rephrased his question. "If someone committed a crime in the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?" _

_Zuko's good eye narrowed and he hesitated, appraising the Water Tribe teen before him. "Why do you want to know that?" He asked, a bit more sharply than he intended. _

_Sokka stared resolutely at his own feet. "Because I want to know what awaits me if Aang fails." He said softly: if he spoke loudly, the lie would be obvious in his voice. _

_Zuko was caught off guard by the response, but it did not completely dispel his suspicions. "They would be taken to the Boiling Rock. It is a fortress of sorts: a stone prison built over a volcano, on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean." The prince looked away from the other teen. "No one has ever escaped from Boiling Rock. It would be foolish to go there." _

"_I don't plan to go there!" Sokka protested just a little too quickly. "I don't even know where it is!" _

"_Yes, you do. You flew right over it, on your way to the Western Air Temple." Zuko watched Sokka's face carefully and saw the brief flash of recognition in the warrior's blue eyes. "Sokka, it would be suicide!" He tried to make the other see reason. _

"_I told you. I don't plan to go there." Sokka answered just a bit too angrily. _

_With one last, appraising look at the other, Zuko turned and continued on his way. _

* * *

_Sokka breathed a sigh of relief when he finally reached the side of the sleeping flying bison. He wound his fingers into the thick fur. _

"_Alright, buddy. Let's not push our luck." He breathed, beginning to climb up towards Appa's saddle. _

_A hand closed around his shoulder, and Sokka nearly jumped out of his skin. He emitted a very undignified squeak and turned to see a very smug, and angry, Zuko. _

"_Going somewhere, Sokka?" He asked, smug smirk competing with the anger in his eyes. _

_Reluctantly, Sokka let go of Appa's coat and hung his head. "I have to try to free my father. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. You'd do the same for your Uncle." He said. _

_Zuko stood silent for several long seconds and Sokka tensed, waiting for the heat of a fireball that never came. Instead, the fire prince gripped his wrist and began pulling him down a narrow corridor. _

"_The bison would be too conspicuous." Zuko said over his shoulder, shoving Sokka through a narrow opening. Sokka's eyes widened: there before him was the war balloon. _

"_We'll take this." The prince raised a hand to silence Sokka's protests. "I'm coming with you, Sokka. Boiling Rock isn't something you can handle alone." _

_Sokka nodded curtly and walked towards the balloon. Zuko stopped him once again with a hand on his chest. _

"_Wait a moment." The prince pulled a scrap of paper from a hidden pocket and scribbled a note to Aang. _

"_What are you doing?" Sokka asked. _

"_Letting Aang know we've gone fishing for a few days, and reminding him to practice his Firebending." The prince shot Sokka a wry smile which he returned. _

"_He'll hate you." He took the stub of pen when it was passed to him and signed the note. _

"_I'll go put this in his room. You get in the balloon. Stay down. The guards still don't trust you." Zuko said._

* * *

"_Something isn't right. We're losing altitude!" Zuko announced. They were just passing over the far side of Boiling Rock's island, still a day's flight from the prison compound. _

"_It's the air! It's hotter outside the balloon than inside it!" Sokka answered, sounding slightly terrified. _

"_What do we do?!" In the course of their journey, Zuko had come to respect the Water Tribe teen's talent for science. _

"_Hold on! We're going to have a rough landing!" _

* * *

"_Put this on." Sokka didn't have time to answer before a bundle of fabric landed right on his head. _

"_A uniform?" He asked. _

"_A prison guard's uniform. We'll blend in." Zuko answered as he began stripping out of his battered clothing. _

_Sokka glanced back at the remnants of their balloon. "How will we get out of here?" He asked. _

"_We'll figure it out. Put on the uniform. Patrols come by this area twice a day. We can sneak in with one of them. They won't notice a sudden addition. There are more guards here than they need." _

_Sokka silently removed the tattered remains of his fire nation clothing and put on the uniform. It was a little big, and scratchy. _

"_What is this thing made of?" He asked, scratching at his neck. _

"_Fire proof material. Come on. The patrol will be here any minute." Zuko motioned to a fissure in the steep rock walls, just big enough for two people. _

* * *

"_Scan the area. The warden thinks there might be suspicious activity up here." The foreman of the patrol said, words lightly muffled by his helmet. _

"_We have to get into the middle. Wait until I say so to move." Zuko breathed into Sokka's ear, receiving a nod. _

"_Now!" _

* * *

_Sokka breathed a sigh of relief when the heavy doors of Boiling Rock swung shut behind the patrol. They had made it. _

"_We need to find out where war prisoners are being kept." He said to Zuko as subtly as possible. _

"_You there! Get down!" _

_Both teens turned to see a large, burly guard forming a whip out of fire. Before Sokka had time to panic, it was whistling through the air, towards the prisoner still sprawled on the ground. _

_There was a flicker of movement, and the prisoner's hand came up, bending the whip away. In an instant, guards were all over him. _

"_What is going on here?!" Came a new voice. A man who was clearly of higher rank stepped through the stopped patrol. _

"_Refused to bow to a guard, sir. So I was going to give him the standard punishment. He parried." The guard announced. _

"_So, you're a firebender, are you?!" The new man growled, lifting the prisoner roughly. "Then it's the cooler for you! You!" The man pointed at Sokka, who jumped slightly, "take this man to the cooler." The Water Tribe teen hesitated and the man rolled his eyes. _

"_Someone show the __**new kid **__where the cooler is." He snapped. _

_One of the guards from the patrol stepped forward. "Let's go." _

_It took all of Sokka's control not to look back over his shoulder at Zuko as he led the prisoner away with the other man's help. _

* * *

_They stopped outside of a door made of smooth grey metal. It opened with a crackle and hiss. A wave of cold air rushed out, making Sokka shiver. _

"_This is one of the coolers. There are three. Firebending's against the rules. If you see a prisoner firebending, they go in here. It'll cool 'em off enough that they won't be able to bend for a while." The other man said as he thrust the prisoner inside and shut the door. _

_Sokka nodded, looking around to see if he could spot Zuko. Something else caught his eye first. _

_Brown hair. Medium height. And an athletic build to rival a man's. Even without her makeup, Suki was unmistakable. _

_Before he could fully think about what he was doing, Sokka had grabbed the other guard's arm. _

"_Where would war prisoners be taken? Say…Water Nation prisoners?" He asked. _

_The other guard was suspicious. He could feel it, even if he couldn't see it. "There aren't any war prisoners at Boiling Rock." He said curtly before turning to walk away. _

_Disappointment, hot and bitter, filled Sokka. He turned and began to walk away. _

* * *

"_Get away!" Suki growled, shoving Sokka as hard as she could. The teenager stumbled back, colliding hard with the wall. He felt his helmet fall off but he was more concerned about breathing at that moment. _

"_Sokka?" Suki asked, hope and disbelief fighting for expression in her voice. _

"_Yeah," he wheezed back. The next second, he had his arms full of excited warrior. _

"_I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Suki whispered. _

"_Me either." Sokka smiled. _

_Their lips met. Zuko, outside the door, turned his head away, giving his newfound friend privacy. _

_His blood ran cold; a guard, mere yards away. Zuko hastily tapped out a pattern on the door and Sokka pulled away; that pattern meant 'trouble.' _

"_I'm going to get you out of here." He promised Suki as he disappeared behind his helmet, slipping out the door just in time to witness an argument. _

_Zuko had planted himself between the guard and Suki's cell and was now getting an earful about disobeying a superior. _

_The other guard spotted Sokka. "Help me take this fool to an empty cell. A few days inside will help him learn his place!" _

_Feeling unbelievably guilty, Sokka arrested Zuko and marched him off to an empty cell. _

* * *

"_Prince Zuko." _

_Zuko turned to face the warden. "How did you know it was me?" He asked, without much enthusiasm. _

"_My niece knows you. Mai? She says you broke her heart." _

_The man didn't wait around for Zuko's answer. _

* * *

"_I've figured it out. The cooler cells aren't part of the island. If we can loosen one we can use it like a boat, get out to sea, and hijack a ship from there." Sokka whispered later that night. Suki, in a newly stolen guard's uniform, nodded her agreement._

"_But it can only be loosened from the inside." She added. _

"_I'll do it." Zuko volunteered immediately. "I have my breath of fire. I won't freeze inside it like you will." _

"_Is that so?" _

_All three spun to face the voice. A tall, burly man smirked at them, a mop and pail in one hand. _

"_Who are you?" Sokka asked cautiously. _

"_My name is Chit Sang. And I want in." The man answered. _

* * *

"_Watch it!" Zuko snapped at Chit Sang, glaring at the bigger man who had just "run into" him. "You spilled water all over me!" He snapped, slapping his mop angrily against the floor and pointing to Chit Sang's half empty bucket. _

"_Don't get in my way next time!" The other man snapped back. _

_They traded blows and Zuko launched a fireball at the other. Guards were all over him in an instant, throwing him into the cooler. _

* * *

_Zuko shivered as he loosened the last screw holding the cooler to the island. Stepping back, he took a deep breath, feeling his inner flame rise up within him. He breathed out a steady stream of flame, warming his hands and legs enough to keep moving. _

_Sokka heard the tapping from inside the cooler: Zuko had finished successfully. Sokka in turn signaled Chit Sang and two of his accomplices. As they were readying to dash over to the loosened cooler, two guards turned the corner. _

"_So we've got more coming in tomorrow?" One was asking. _

"_Yeah. Water Nation warriors." _

_Sokka's heart leapt. War prisoners coming in tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe, he could find his father. _

* * *

_"Everything is ready!" Zuko hissed. He was walking slightly ahead of Chit Sang and his friends, ready to fire blast anyone who spotted them. _

_They made it to the loosened cooler without incident. Sokka was waiting and opened the door: should anyone pass by, it would look like he and Zuko were simply carrying out the usual punishment. _

_"Take this too." Sokka_ _handed the four men a rough-hewn plank, which would serve as a makeshift paddle to get the cooler out and away. _

_The four men stepped inside and Chit Sang turned grateful eyes their way. _

_"Thank you." _

_Sokka and Zuko watched them drift away with mixed feelings: they might have just missed their one chance to escape this hellish place. But on the other..._

_"I have to know," Sokka said, finishing aloud their unspoken thoughts, "I have to try." _

_"I know," Zuko answered softly._

* * *

_The cooler was nearly out of sight when disaster struck. _

_Chit Sang got cocky. He saw his freedom near at hand and dug their makeshift paddle in too hard. _

_With a hiss of steam, he was covered in boiling water. An agonized scream ripped from him, hastily silenced by Haowen covering his mouth. _

_It wasn't enough. Already, the guards on Boiling Rock were moving to bring the cooler, and its inhabitants, back._

* * *

_"Listen up! When your name is called, step off the lift, and line up in front of the warden. No funny business!" _

_Sokka listened with a pounding heart to the first three names. _

_By the fifth, he had lost hope. _

_The last prisoner was bullied off the lift by three guards, resisting every effort to move him forward. The guards managed to get the struggling man to the lineup, where he stood proudly, shoulders square and head high. _

"_Hakoda!" _

_Sokka could have leapt for joy: it was his father!_

_He readied himself to dash forward and throw his arms around Hakoda, but Zuko stopped him with a large handful of his shirt. _

_"You'll get us both killed!" The fire prince hissed. _

_Reluctantly, Sokka stood where he was, watching tensely as the Water Tribe prisoners were led deep into Boiling Rock. _

* * *

_He barely saw the blow coming. Only some primal instinct let Sokka duck his head, milliseconds before Hakoda's foot sliced the air where it had been. _

_It was nearly midnight, and finally, Zuko had declared it safe for him to visit his father. In his eagerness, he had forgotten about his guard's uniform and that he must look like the enemy. Now, realizing, he felt more than a little foolish. _

"_Father, it's me!" Sokka said, quickly pulling off his helmet. _

"_Sokka?" The look of hatred melted off Hakod's face. _

"_Yes. I'm going to get you out of here." _

* * *

"_That one!" Chit Sang said firmly, pointing to the man who had tried to whip him. He had been caught and ordered to name his accomplice. Sokka, on the man's right, subtly released his breath. He was safe. _

_As the big man was led away for questioning, Chit Sang passed by him and winked, very deliberately._

* * *

"_We need a diversion." Suki said._

_"Some type of bending?" Sokka suggested._

_"No. They've stopped using the coolers for a bit and are just flat out torturing benders now. We need to get the prisoners to riot," Zuko said, "and use it as cover. We can get the warden and get to the gondolas before we're missed." _

_"But how to start a riot..." Sokka mused aloud. The group fell silent, thinking. _

_Hakoda turned matter-of-factly to the nearest prisoner -a man much bigger than himself- and hit him squarely in the jaw. The fight that broke out earned them little. _

"_Control your anger!" One guard barked, pulling Hakoda away. _

_Chit Sang watched this with mild interest and turned. He lifted a random prisoner. "Hey. RIOT!" He said loudly. _

_Within minutes, chaos had erupted. _

"_There's the warden!" Zuko yelled over the din. _

"_Leave that to me." Suki disappeared and they saw her flipping through the air. But they didn't have time to watch: soon they were drawn into the fray as the guards attacked, fire blasting indiscriminantly._

* * *

"_Got him!" Suki announced, pointing to the carefully bound and gagged warden. The four of them were bruised, bloody, and utterly exhausted. _

"_To the gondolas!" Zuko gasped. "Hurry!" _

_Dragging their hostage between them, the five of them bolted headlong for the gates and for the harbor beyond. The gate was -miraculously- open and they made it without any sign of pursuit. _

_They had just cast off when a familiar, spine-tingling laugh reached the fire prince's ears. _

_"And where do you think you're going, Zuzu?" _

_Standing on the roof of the gondola were Ty Lee and Princess Azula. _

_Zuko idly wondered where Mai was before his sister attacked._

* * *

"_Sokka! Duck!" Zuko shouted, crossing his arms in front of his face to block a shot of blue fire from his sister. Sokka dropped to the roof of the gondola in time to avoid a similar shot. _

_The two of them combined kept Azula from capturing them. Nearby, Suki and Ty Lee seemed to be having a battle that was all acrobatics. _

_There came the sound of snapping ropes and Sokka whirled around; too late. "Guards!! Cut the lines!!" yelled the warden. _

_Sokka and Zuko gulped: the gondola was still in the harbor. They were going to be trapped! _

_Azula smirked at her brother and grabbed Ty Lee's arm. The two women jumped, landing neatly on one of the other gondolas._

_They weren't going to make it in time._

_Silver flashed through the air, small daggers pinning the guards to the walls. _

"_What are you doing?!" One of them screeched. _

_Mai's voice was emotionless. "Saving the jerk who dumped me." She very pointedly eyed the fire prince_

_The five escapees didn't have time to be properly grateful, though Zuko had the grace to lower his head._

* * *

"_What were you thinking?! Why did you help them escape?!" Azula was, literally, steaming at Mai. _

_Mai glared back. "I love your brother more than I could ever fear you, Azula." She said evenly._

_Azula's hand reared back, and Mai tensed for the blow. It never came. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. _

_Ty Lee stood protectively in front of her, daring Azula to hit them both. _

_Hands grabbed them both. "Your Highness. What do you want us to do with these two?" The guard holding the girls asked. _

_Azula's face was contorted with fury at her friends. "Put them somewhere that I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot there!" She snapped, turning on her heel. _

_The guard nodded and led Mai and Ty Lee away. _

_He marched them through the prison, but instead of putting them in any of the cells, he led them down a narrow passage, clearly a service pathway of some sort. _

_They emerged into the light, the two women blinking in confusion as to why they were outside. _

_Their guard, a boy barely older than Zuko, blushed heavily. _

"_I'm not imprisoning the warden's niece. Hurry." He said. _

_He led them to a much smaller, more secluded harbor. "This is the transport ship that brought the prisoners in. It's bound for Omashu next. Hurry." He said again. _

_Mai and Ty Lee didn't argue. They slipped aboard the transport and hid themselves quickly. _

* * *

_A few weeks after their return, Katara, Aang, Toph, and Hakoda were seated around the campfire, watching Sokka and Zuko. The two were a short way off, heads close together, speaking earnestly. _

"_They're so different now. Closer." Katara said. _

_Hakoda smiled wisely. "They had to be. They never would have escaped Boiling Rock if they weren't." _

* * *

"_I swear that, should you need it, I will fight beside you." Zuko said. Sokka solemnly repeated the words. _

"_Let's hope we won't have to come through on those promises." He said quietly. _

* * *

Just to clarify, I wrote this as if Sokka and Zuko were in the Fire Palace at the beginning and met up with the others at the Western Air Temple

Well, there you have it! As I said, mostly a set up for future chapters. Remember to let me know who you want to have a change of heart between Sokka and Katara.

Next chap should be out by Wednesday (or sooner if I get enough reviews)

Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Grief

Hey guys! It's me Dhamphir, back with Ch 4!!

Thanks to all who have reviewed this story so far! It's really helped my confidence!

I've gotten quite a few votes, and it seems that Sokka will be having the change of heart!

Disclaimer: Though I wish I did, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All recognizable characters and settings belong to someone else. The idea for this story, any original characters or settings all belong to me.

**Warning: This chapter will contain Avatar Angst**

Beta'd by my wonderful Grammar God, The Red Bird!

Hope you guys like!

* * *

Sokka felt deep into the corners of the burlap sack that, just a week prior, had been filled with food. Nothing. Not even a crumb was left of their supply. With a sigh, the warrior withdrew his hand and re-tied the bag to his belt. His right hand came up to brush gently against his forehead, just a bit above his right eyebrow, fingering the fine scar there. It was a habit he had when attempting to figure out a difficult problem.

"Katara," he called. No response from his sister. She was about five yards away, knee-deep in a slow moving stream that Sokka knew fed the rivers near Omashu, practicing her waterbending forms. She had been steadfastly ignoring him practically from the moment they had left. Again, Sokka sighed, fingers falling from his scar in defeat. There was no reasoning with her, he could see that; she held a grudge too strongly; but he didn't want to give up on his own sister, the only blood relation he had left. But at the same time:

_The day after the siblings had started walking, Katara started on one of her now-familiar anti-Aang rants. _

"_He should be GRATEFUL we were willing to stay with him! What has he done for this world?! He was supposed to master the elements, but he could barely grasp water, which is by FAR the easiest. He was supposed to restore balance, but he hasn't. He was…he was supposed to save us. Has he?! NO!!" Katara threw her hands in the air and turned burning blue eyes to her brother. "Why are you being so quiet?!" She had demanded. _

"_Because," Sokka said in a tired voice, rubbing the scar on his forehead; evidence that he and Zuko had not always been friends; "because I think you're being too harsh, Katara." He flinched at her instant outcry. _

"_You're saying I'm wrong?! Sokka, you're my brother!! You're supposed to be on my side!" _

"_I __**am **__on your side Katara. Or at least, I was. But I can't agree with your attitude. We __**all **__failed on the day of the Black Sun. We __**all **__failed to find the Fire Lord. We __**all **__weren't strong enough to fight the entire Fire Nation Army. We failed __**together.**__" Sokka said in as neutral a voice as he could manage. _

"_What are you getting at, Sokka?" Katara snapped. _

"_That it isn't fair to lay all of the blame on Aang's shoulders just because he's the Avatar! He's a __**kid, **__Katara! He's younger than you are! The life we've lived for the last year: the running, the hiding, the stealth training in the elements with whomever we had available to teach him: has been hard for all of us. Aang is only twelve, Katara, and living that life, on top of being the last of his nation." Sokka trailed off, seeing the stubborn look in Katara's eyes. It was clear he wasn't getting through to her. _

"_And what about our father, Sokka? The fact that he's been imprisoned yet again?" Katara's words were clipped, bitter. _

"_Dad is a warrior, Katara. He knew what might happen when he went into that battle, and he went even so. Clearly he doesn't fear imprisonment. And I see no reason to hold our father's capture against Aang. He didn't hand him to the Firebenders." Sokka answered. Silence reigned for a long time. _

"_And Suki? What about her, Sokka? What about what happened to her?" Katara's voice was a hair's breadth above a whisper. Her words had the intended effect; Sokka flinched. _

"_I don't know for sure that Suki went back to prison. But she's the same as Dad, or me, or Toph; she's a warrior. She knew what awaited her if we lost." _

_Katara let out a scream. "What has happened to you, Sokka?! Why are you suddenly sympathizing with the Avatar?!" She demanded. _

"_So he's the Avatar now? Not Aang any more?" His sister didn't answer, and Sokka didn't expect her to. "I sympathize with Aang because I know that if it were me in his place, he would hide his fear and his pain and do everything he could to comfort me. But I let my fear and my pain cloud my mind. I treated him in a way that is unforgivable, and because of it, I've lost more than a friend: I've lost a comrade and someone I considered to be a younger brother." _

_Katara glared at him, venom in her eyes. "Well apparently your 'younger brother' is more important than your own blood! __**You **__may be able to overlook what he's done, Sokka, but __**I **__can't. I will never forgive him." The last sentence was barely audible. Katara upped her stride, putting distance between herself and Sokka, who watched her go with sad eyes, but made no move to beg her forgiveness as he once would have. _

_-What happened to you, Katara? Once, you considered him a friend. I'm pretty sure you loved him too. How could one thing change all of that?- He asked her silently. _

* * *

Sokka shook his head, snapping himself out of his memories of that day.

"Katara!!" He knew he had the right of it, and that Katara was wrong. But that didn't stop the pang of sadness he felt as she continued not to acknowledge him. Finally, he snapped, unknotting the empty supply bag from his waist and hurling it into the river. It drifted in front of Katara, who stopped bending and picked it up.

"We're out of food." Sokka snapped, fed up with her attitude.

She stood for a long moment, waist-deep in the water, holding the empty and sodden bag. "What does that mean?" She asked; her voice was soft, frightened, and for a moment, she was Sokka's sister again.

"It means we have no choice. We have to let ourselves be caught." Sokka answered, trying to sound like the brother she knew.

Her shoulders stiffened, he could see it from the bank. "It's that or we starve out here," He said, "because no game lives in the woods this far north."

She turned slowly to face him and, for a brief moment, he saw the old Katara in her scared expression. Then he blinked, and the new, hardhearted Katara was back. She waded to the bank, bending the water out of her clothing, and bent to retrieve her belongings. She set off without a word. With one last, lingering glance at her back, Sokka followed.

* * *

Sokka winced in pain as he was roughly slammed into the ground, feeling his lower lip split open as it was jammed into his teeth. Blood was filling his nose and mouth, staining the ground around his head crimson. He watched it slowly pool, his entire body aching.

They had made it to the borders of Omashu three days ago and taken up residence in one of the less-reputable inns. It hadn't taken long for the innkeeper to recognize and report them. When Fire Nation soldiers came bursting through the door to he and Katara's room, Sokka was tempted to give himself up without a fight. But that would have been more suspicious.

He had fought, but he was so hungry that he wasn't much of a threat. A skillful twist of one guard's wrist, and his sword was spinning across the room to be picked up by another guard. Katara was still fighting, battling two firebenders at once. Sokka, as mad at his sister as he was, couldn't help but appreciate her talent at bending.

His train of thought was cut short when he was hauled unceremoniously to his feet, hands now securely bound behind him. The guard who had tackled him stood behind him, gripping his forearms. The burly man reached one hand over Sokka's shoulder and created a flame in his palm, holding it very close to Sokka's face.

"Give up the fight, girl! Or your brother dies!" He yelled. Katara assessed the situation and, to Sokka's very real surprise, surrendered. She was subdued much less brutally than Sokka had been.

The guard holding him allowed the flame to flare up a bit brighter and Sokka flinched away from its heat. "Struggle, peasant, and you'll be eating this flame." He hissed in Sokka's ear, beginning to march him from the room.

* * *

Prince Zuko slowly made his way through the overcrowded dungeons of the palace. The newly reinstated royal did his best not to show recognition, though many of the faces now giving him contemptuous looks were familiar; they had fought together, these people and Zuko, not so very long ago.

The prince was relieved when he finished walking the last row of cells and began making his way back up to the palace proper. He couldn't stand going down into the dungeons now that they were overflowing with captured rebels: he couldn't stand the looks of hopelessness and betrayal on the faces of former friends. But he had no choice; one of the conditions of his return to the royal family had been unquestioned obedience in anything the Fire Lord asked of him.

His scar gave a painful throb, making him feeling for a moment like that horrific day was repeating itself. Zuko closed his eyes and clenched his jaws in a silent grimace of pain. These flares, though they had happened before, were happening more and more frequently now that he was back in the palace, forced to enter the war council room every single day: the very room where Zuko had spoken out of turn, out of compassion for his people being sent to die a senseless death.

That day had set off a chain of events in the young prince's life: being forced to face his own father in Agni Kai. Begging his father not to make him fight, that he was his loyal son, and a loyal son of the Fire Nation. His father, cast in shadow, sneering at him, telling him that he was weak. The pain of the blast connecting with his face. And, months later, standing scarred and shamed before the Fire Lord, receiving his sentence of exile with cool indifference. Zuko had turned and left the room without a backward glance and his shoulders squared, boarding the ship that would bear him away from home, perhaps forever, with all the dignity of a prince.

He had severed all ties with his emotions after that. Emotions had no place at sea, and they certainly had no use for Zuko. All they had done was get him into trouble. As the months and miles rolled by, the prince allowed himself to forget what it was to feel love…compassion…friendship. Anything but anger and bitterness, he believed he had forgotten.

It was his uncle: insane, lovable, powerful Uncle Iroh: who reminded him that he had not. One night aboard the ship, once more in pursuit of the Avatar and his friends, Iroh had said something that truly struck a chord in Zuko's heart:

"_Your compassion and love for your people is not a weakness, Prince Zuko. Your father has placed our people on a road to destruction. If they survive, they will need a firm and fair leader to help them rebuild. They will need you, Nephew. You, and your compassion and ability to love." _

The words had made Zuko take a step back from the unquestioning obedience to the Fire Nation he retained, though he was little more than a refugee and his own sister was trying to kill him. He had taken a step back, and seen that his uncle was right: his father was insane, and his lust for power which had already destroyed the Air Nomads would consume his own people as well. If he was not stopped, the Fire Nation would buckle under its own weight.

Shortly after he and his Uncle had joined the Avatar. And that was when, Zuko believed, he found his first real friend.

* * *

They were distrustful at first, and they had every right to be: he had chased them relentlessly for more than a year, and injured them several times. Therefore, he did not blame the siblings, or the blind earthbender, for their coldness to him at first.

The Avatar: -_Aang, his name is Aang- _Zuko corrected himself_: _had been a different matter. From the beginning, the cheerful airbender had accepted Zuko and Iroh wholeheartedly, willing to set the past aside with little protest. It was his unconditioned acceptance that eventually brought the others around.

"_Why are you so willing to trust us, after all that we've done to you?" _Zuko had asked him one night.

Aang had given him a rather rueful smile, sadness in his grey eyes, before answering: _"Because you wouldn't have come to us if you didn't honestly want us to forgive you." _He had said, and left it at that.

At first Zuko had clung to Aang like a lifeline, relying on him to help him through social situations. But eventually, it was Sokka he began to turn to.

It had begun one night when the two of them had been on their way to a nearby river to wash their clothes. They had to pass very close to a Fire Nation camp to get to it. Zuko had been terrified of being discovered the entire time. The next day, Sokka had taken him aside and began showing him the stealth techniques that were a hunter's means of success: how to time his breathing so that it matched his footsteps, how to scan the terrain in front of him for obstacles without really looking down, and most of all, how to transfer his weight silently from foot to foot.

"_Do that, and you'll never get caught." _Sokka had said with his lazy, crooked smile. Zuko had smiled back.

Just like that, their friendship was born. He and Sokka spent hours trading stories of their very different pasts: Zuko's as a Fire Nation noble, raised to believe his was the greatest of all the elements, and Sokka's as a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, raised to know that no element could survive alone: and sparring when they had time. Sokka taught Zuko the basics of hunting and tracking, and Zuko and Iroh together taught the Water Tribe teen to play that most infamous of board games, Pai Sho. Sokka, as it turned out, was a brilliant strategist, outthinking Zuko in a matter of hours and very nearly besting Iroh:

"_Told you to watch out for his Lotus Tile." Zuko said from the tree he had been leaning against, watching the two play. _

"_Yeah, yeah." Sokka had answered, sticking out his tongue. Zuko rolled his eyes. _

He owed the Water Tribe teen so much. Without Sokka, he doubted he would have survived Boiling Rock, or even had the courage to go there in the first place. In Sokka he had found more than just a friend: he had found a comrade, a confidante, and a confessor. He told Sokka things he didn't dare tell the others, even the Avatar: how it had felt to be banished from his home, from his family, and sent on a seemingly impossible task. How he had known that Azula was his father's favorite before he could even speak. Sokka listened to his worries with a sympathetic ear, weaving advice in with humor. Always, Zuko walked away feeling both comforted and amused.

Boiling Rock had only strengthened their bond: the bond between warriors, who never knew when their last moment would be. Because they didn't know, the two had made a solemn vow following the escape from the prison to come to the other's aid, should he need it.

"_I swear to you…" _

Zuko snapped himself out of his musings and realized he had been standing in the middle of the lower hallway in a daze. With a quick shake of his head, the prince made his way towards the west wing and the sparring grounds.

"…_that should you need me…" _

He had nearly reached his destination when a page rounded the corner, stopping right in front of Zuko, effectively blocking his path. The boy was breathing heavily, sweat glistening on his brow. What once would have made flame come from the prince's nostrils now had him simply raising his un-burnt eyebrow.

"What is it?" He asked.

"…_I will fight…"_

"We've just captured two prisoners, Your Highness." The page reported. He scuffed the ground with his toe. "The siblings from the Water Tribe."

Zuko's blood turned to ice. "What?" He asked, hoping he had heard wrong.

"They're being held in the eastern parlor, Your Highness, awaiting interrogation by the General…"

"…thank you for telling me. Please tell the General he needn't bother. I will interrogate them myself." Zuko didn't wait for an answer, setting off full-tilt for the opposite side of the castle.

He skidded to a stop before the eastern parlor, being guarded by two fully armed firebenders. Zuko squared his shoulders, marching up to them regally.

"I'm to interrogate the new arrivals myself." He said with as much authority as he could muster. If they questioned him, they didn't say so. Their spears uncrossed, and Zuko nodded his thanks as he entered the small, dusty room.

"…_by your side." _

His eyes widened of their own accord, heart sinking into his boots. There before him was a familiar figure, bruised and battered.

"Sokka," he breathed, "what happened?" The Water Tribe warrior looked up and Zuko gasped. His face was a bloody mess, but it was his eyes that held the prince stunned. They held a profound regret that was not there when last they met.

Sokka managed a weak imitation of his usual smile. "Hey, Scarhead," he whispered.

* * *

The sun was rising in a blaze of oranges and reds. Aang watched the glowing ball of fire as it rose above the horizon with mixed emotions: the monks had taught him that the sun was to be respected, as it was the sun's heat and light that gave life to the planet. But seeing it; and the colors it painted the sky; reminded the Avatar all the more of his failure.

He could not see the sun now without thinking of the Fire Nation, and the benders who drew their power from the sun. He could not watch the sunrise without remembering that one chance: the day when the sun did not shine, when the firebenders were at their weakest: to restore balance to the elements and the world.

Tears stung the young man's eyes as he thought of his beloved mentor; Gyatso. One salty droplet made its way down Aang's cheek as his thoughts followed a path that was becoming more and more familiar to him.

_My people never hurt anyone. Especially not Gyatso. Why? Why did the Fire Nation choose them? _More tears fell as he remembered his friends…his tutors….

For the thousandth time, he felt the guilt: it was infinitely worse than the knowledge of his more recent failure. Because he knew all of the victims' names. He knew their faces. He could see it so clearly…

_The monks moving as quickly as their aged limbs could carry them, trying to free the gentle herds of flying bison and lemurs. Waving their arms, yelling, doing all they could to get the large, loyal creatures to flee. Then they would turn themselves and run back into the temple, herding all of the students into the inner sanctuaries and placing themselves between the young and the ever approaching enemy. _

_And then they would wait. They would pray to the four gods: Kue'i-Hsing, of the west, for wisdom: Kuan Ti, of the east, for courage: Lei-Kung, of the North, for strength: and Fu-Hsing, of the South, to bless them with her strength. _

_At long last they would hear the footsteps of the soldiers, marching in lock-step. The acrid smell of their home burning would permeate the air. But the devout monks would not waiver. They would remain steady, palms and feet pressed together, chanting the prayer to Fu-Hsing. _

_Gyatso would speak just before the doors of the temple burst open. "They come looking for Aang. They must not know that he is no longer with us. We must protect the Avatar. That is our sacred duty." _

_They would fight: every last one of them: nine elderly men against an army. They would fight to the very end, defending the children in their care and the one trusted to their protection. _

_Then the children: friends, boys Aang had grown up with. Boys who considered him a friend. They would do what they could, but they, too, would fall before the Fire Nation's army. _

_In the end, silence would fall. Many Fire Nation soldiers would lie among the ranks of the dead, side by side with the peaceful nomads so brutally slaughtered. Their comrades would gather them and take them away: they would be lauded as heroes, and given the burial they deserve. _

_There would be no such burial for the men of the Southern Air Temple. By the time word reached the other temples it would be too late. The army would be on their doorstep. Like their brethren, the men and women of those temples would fight. _

_Meanwhile he, Aang, the Avatar…the reason for the bloodshed…the one who was supposed to save his people…he would already be languishing in the ice by then. Unaware that as he hung suspended in time, his people were dying._

* * *

Harsh sobs came from the Avatar now, and the tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Images of all four temples were playing behind his tightly closed eyelids: playing in the mountains, watched over by the careful eye of the monks. Choosing Appa, who was still just a baby then, by giving him an apple. Successfully gliding for the first time. He and Appa's first flight together. The kind voices of Gyatso and Sister Iio. Last of all he remembered Guru Pathik, the man who transcended time and helped him to master the Avatar State.

_I failed as the Avatar from the start. I failed my own people and cost them their lives. Now I've condemned the world to the same fate._

* * *

Toph repressed a flinch: the closer she got to their resting place, the harder it got to bear.

The Avatar was the incarnation of the planet's energy. As such, he or she had a stronger link not only to the four elements, but to the planet's core. And vice versa. Aang was grieving: that much was clear. His grief was profound enough to affect the planet itself. With every step she took, Toph could feel that grief coming through the earth and traveling through her, feeling like a blade to her heart.

It had been nearly a week since they left Sokka and Katara in the woods of the northern Earth Kingdom. In that time they had been traveling sporadically, zigzagging and often doubling back to make sure no one pursued them. They had taken to sleeping during the day and traveling at night: two children as young as they were, traveling without adult supervision always drew attention. Not to mention their mode of transportation: not many flying bison could be seen these days.

There were few towns now willing or able to welcome the Avatar. So Aang and Toph had resorted to taking what they needed at night. Aang, ever honest, hated being forced to steal. Even if the only other option was starvation or possibly imprisonment. Toph, wanting to spare him further pain, had offered to go alone. She hadn't been able to get much, but it would be enough to last them a few weeks as long as they were careful. In one hand, she held a bundle of apples for Appa.

It was selfish, but she had felt a wicked stab of joy when Aang had done nothing more than clasped her arm and told her to be careful, and that he would see her when she came back. Had Katara been there, she would have insisted that Sokka escort Toph, "just in case." And she would bully her brother until he went along. He would walk too close for either of their comfort levels, vaguely embarrassed by his sister's attitude. But that embarrassment wouldn't stop him from holding Toph's arm, despite her protests, in crowded areas.

Part of the reason she preferred Aang's company to that of the Water Tribe siblings: Aang never referenced her blindness as a weakness: he saw it as strength. That was probably the influence of the Air Nomads, who had taught that all things could be seen in two ways, positively and negatively. Aang never coddled Toph, never offered to help her where he knew she didn't need it. And most importantly, there was no vaguely pitying note in his voice when he spoke to her. Just the same friendly acceptance he showed to everyone else.

Though Katara probably meant well, and Sokka too, their smothering behavior angered the Bei Fong warrior; it reminded her of her parents' attitudes, the ones that had led her to the underground bending tournaments and, later, to Aang and his friends.

_-I guess this situation could be considered déjà vu- _Toph thought, remembering the thrill she had felt sneaking out of the palace and taking flight on Appa. How exhilarated she had been to be able to live her own life. When she had fled with Aang from the campsite, that thrill had been there again, but it had been overshadowed by her overwhelming sympathy: sympathy for her friend that he felt it necessary to leave them behind, and how much it had taken to make that decision on top of everything he had been through. It seemed that all of those repressed emotions had finally come to a head.

Lost in thought, she had nearly reached the shadowed outcropping of rock where they would sleep for the day. Aang was just a few yards away. Toph's heart went out to her friend as the sounds of his sobs reached her ears. And she could tell when he heard her approach, because he silenced himself and rose to meet her.

"Were you able to get anything?" He asked, walking forward to take the apples that would be Appa's dinner. His footsteps were heavy: they felt like the steps of a man much older than he was, a man who had seen and lived through too much. Toph felt the weight of his steps as surely as the earth did and marveled at it: he was the same age as she herself was, and had been carrying the weight of the world for so long already.

She allowed him to take the apples from her, but stopped him from moving away with a hand on his wrist. "What is it that is making you so sad, Aang? You still have a chance to save the world." There was no hint of her usual teasing or sarcasm, only concern.

His trembling was strong enough that she felt it in her own legs, carried by the earth. "But not my people," he whispered, "how am I supposed to go back there, Toph? It was hard enough the first time, and then seeing what had become of the Northern Air Temple, and the Western one…I don't know if I can do it again."

"Oh, Aang," gently, Toph hugged her taller friend, feeling him clench her shirt as if he would drift away without her to anchor him. She could tell he was trying to be strong, to find something reassuring to say.

"Even the Avatar is allowed to be weak sometimes, Twinkle Toes. And if you happened to cry…I'd forget about it by tonight." She said quietly, a hint of her old humor in her voice.

There was a rough, barking sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. It quickly dissolved into sobs. Toph held him, allowing him to grieve for the airbenders as he had not yet had a chance to do.

This time there was no Avatar State, no panicked Sokka and Katara. There was just a boy who had experienced more than his fair share of tragedy.

* * *

Sorry for the sadness!! I just realized that Aang really never did get to grieve for his people. He deserved a chance.

Also, I hope Toph wasn't too OOC. The way I imagine her, I can see her having a whole other range of emotions that most people don't see because she's putting up a front. I tried to write her that way.

As always, guys, please review! It'll give me the confidence to update faster!

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Clue

Oh gosh, i am _so sorry _I took forever to update! I've had a bunch of stuff going on in the real world and I haven't had a single free minute! I hope I still have readers out there!

Anyway, here's CH 5! I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All recognizable characters and settings are someone else's property. The idea for this story and any original characters are property of me, Dhamphir.

Pairings: Taang main, potential Zuko/OC later in the story.

Beta'd by The Red Bird

Note: I've decided that I will update for every three reviews I receive. So in the future, for faster updates, review please!

* * *

As strange as it sounded, Toph had always loved watching the sunset.

Or, more accurately, she loved seeing the sunset through the earth's eyes.

The Bei Fong warrior stood near the edge of a sheer drop off. They had been steadily climbing into the mountains for the last three days, climbing towards the highest peak and the Southern Air Temple. Toph could feel the change in the earth: these places rarely if ever saw the passage of humans upon their surfaces. They were wild. Dangerous. Untamed. And those things made the sunset that much better.

Her eyes were closed, her hands turned palms upward, not cupped as they would be if she were in battle, but flattened, to maximize the amount of her skin exposed to the sensations. She rested as lightly as she could upon the earth, her weight over her toes, listening, feeling, as the glowing red orb fell lower in the western sky.

A sensation like a hundred thousand tiny needles piercing her skin came over her, but it was not painful: far from it. The sensation was comparable to having her entire body plunged into a warm bath after a long time spent out in the cold. It was pleasurable. It was…incredible. Toph held her breath, allowing just a bit more of her weight to touch the ground, and the sensation was magnified; as if the needles now traveled inside her very blood, warming her from the inside out with their tingling heat.

All too soon, it was over and twilight had fallen. Very slowly, Toph relaxed out of her stance and released her breath. Her awareness of the world around her returned and she became aware of Aang. He was sitting not too far away, with his feet flat on the ground and his knees bent, resting his elbows on them as he watched her with interest and a small amount of amusement.

"I still don't understand how something that happens every day can be so thrilling," he said, but there was no mockery in his voice, just curiosity and maybe a bit of…awe.

"Because you _see _it. You don't _feel _it." Toph couldn't really explain the sunset and what it did for her any better than that: not only because Aang was not blind, but because he did not have the bond with the earth that she did.

"Maybe. Maybe you're just weird." She could feel his grin as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"_Sure. _Whatever you say, Twinkle Toes," she teased back, but without the usual sting her teasing held.

In the last three days, their bond had slowly been changing. They were less inclined to be harsh with one another, opting for lighter jabs instead. They had been speaking less, but then, they didn't seem to need to speak as much. There was an awareness between them on a greater level than before. Neither of them were sure what it meant, but they knew that their friendship had taken a turn that night, when Toph had cradled Aang in her arms and he had cried for hours into her shoulder, for the Airbenders and for the world he had failed to save. She hadn't tried to comfort him; there was really no way to comfort someone who had experienced all the things they had; but just by holding him, she had reminded him that he was not alone. He still had Toph, who would go to hell and back with him if that was what it took. And that more than any words had comforted him.

They had slept like that the following day: Toph holding the Avatar protectively in her arms, while he clung to her shirt desperately, as if he could physically force her to remain with him. Neither had spoken of that night or day since, and they saw no reason to.

Now, they climbed up into Appa's saddle and with Aang's whispered "yip, yip," flew off into the night.

"We're getting really close." Aang said in a voice almost too soft for her to hear. Toph simply nodded and smiled at him, the same smile she always had for him. He grinned back before turning his attention to guiding Appa higher into the clouds, away from prying eyes.

* * *

Zuko abandoned any sense of propriety and, ignoring the fact that _anyone _could walk in at _any time, _raced across the room to stand in front of his friend. He grasped Sokka's shoulders and pulled him up by his tunic, holding the Water Tribe teen at arms' length so he could inspect him.

He was, quite frankly, a mess. His clothing was a uniform faded grey, worn almost to rags, and he was too thin. He had the hollow look of one who hasn't had a good night's sleep in a while. He was badly bruised and beaten up and his hair was straggling loose from its ponytail.

Zuko finally released him, and Sokka, spluttering protests at the manhandling, fell ungracefully back into the chair the guards had left him in.

"What _happened?" _The prince asked again, in a voice filled with both surprise and concern.

Sokka hung his head, unwilling to meet Zuko's eyes. "Aang left."

"_What?!" _

Sokka held up both hands to hold off his outburst. "Listen, listen, listen!" When he was sure he had Zuko's attention, and that the Prince wasn't going to firebend him into a pile of Sokka-ash, he began.

"We were all shaken up by what happened at the palace. I don't think any of us let ourselves think about the possibility that Aang might fail. And so when he did, we had no idea what to do. We ran, and we hid, and in the end, we scattered. Haru and Teo have disappeared completely. Suki is very likely back in prison. And Katara and I went with Aang." Sokka paused, took a deep breath, and bravely continued.

"We weren't thinking clearly at the time. All we knew was that we had blown our one chance. Somewhere along the way, Katara went from blaming all of us to blaming just Aang. It was easy for me to go along with it, rather than acknowledge my own part in the failure. We…we said some pretty awful things to him. More than once, in fact. Finally I realized that I was out of line and that the blame was equally shared, and that it wasn't Aang's fault that things turned out the way they did.

"Katara didn't stop, though. She can't forgive Aang for what she considers a betrayal: in her mind, he betrayed the world when he failed, and she made him pay for it. A little over a month ago, we woke up and he and Toph had gone. They took Appa and flew away, and left Katara and me in the middle of the northern Earth Kingdom. We had no choice but to get caught when we ran out of food." Sokka finished.

Zuko was silent for many long moments. Sokka peered at him occasionally, his gaze hesitant, as if afraid Zuko was going to blow up. The prince's face was surprisingly blank as he digested what he had been told. The only sign that it bothered him was the way he was rubbing his scarred jawbone.

There was no explosion. Zuko turned to Katara, who had been sitting silently through the whole exchange, staring at the wall. "Is it true?" He asked in a soft voice, as if hoping she wouldn't hear him.

Slowly, her head came around and Zuko flinched back. She fixed him with a piercing blue gaze, her eyes holding anger, contempt and, worst of all, cruelty. She knew she had hurt Aang, and she didn't care. Zuko had seen that look before: on the face of a respected general as he suggested sending new recruits to die for the sake of a distraction. On the face of his father, just before the blast of fire had seared his skin. On the face of his sister, as she tried to capture him at Boiling Rock. It was a look he was used to seeing in the Fire Nation. But on Katara, the look was all wrong, and it gave Zuko chills as he looked back at her.

She lifted her chin regally, looking in that moment more royal than even the Fire Lord. "It is." She said, with great dignity.

Zuko felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his insides, as his stomach and heart plummeted. They seemed to sink into his boots. He swallowed and licked his lips, trying to make his suddenly dry mouth form words.

"Why would you treat a friend that way?" He asked, again so softly he might have not wanted an answer.

She gave him one anyway. "He isn't my friend. He isn't _anything. _He's just a pathetic little boy who couldn't master the elements. He couldn't even save _his own people, _let alone the world." She turned away dismissively. "Good riddance, I say."

Zuko was shaken as he turned back to Sokka. This was not the Katara he knew; the Katara he knew was a gentle girl with a big heart and a mean ice spike. She had offered to heal him with her magic water. She had…Agni, she had been in love with Aang. Everyone could see that, even his Uncle.

He met Sokka's morose gaze and found himself at a loss for words. Thankfully, Sokka spoke first.

"You see what I mean. I…honestly, Zuko, I don't know what to think. I don't want to give up, but she holds a mean grudge." He said in the soft whisper the two of them had perfected on Boiling Rock.

Zuko wasn't sure what to say and he covered it in the way he always did: by drawing on the part of the royal. "It's time for the two of you to go to the dungeons with the other rebels." He said flatly.

Sokka nodded, somehow managing to convey so many things in such a simple gesture: that he understood, that he would speak to Zuko again when they were allowed, that…that he didn't blame Zuko for not knowing how to deal with this new Katara. _He _didn't even know. And he was not sure he even wanted to learn.

The Water Tribe teen stood up, and allowed Zuko to march him from the room, playing the role of the browbeaten and defeated prisoner.

"Bring the girl." Zuko snapped, and the anger in his voice was not entirely false. He resisted the urge to hurl a fire ball at Katara, but only barely.

_You were supposed to be different from the people here. You were supposed to be gentle and loving and all the things a healer should be. You were supposed to be a __**friend. **__But you're just the same. _

* * *

Toph had decided that the Southern Air Temple was the most disconcerting place she had ever been to. The ground beneath her feet felt like solid stone, but what she read from it was that she was several thousand feet from the actual earth. Being on solid ground, while not on solid ground, was confusing and slightly terrifying.

She forced herself to push that aside: Aang needed her now. He needed her help and he needed her friendship. She could feel his unease growing with every passing minute, his fear that he would find something he and Sokka and Katara had missed the last time. And she could feel just how little control he had over his emotions right then. Slowly, she reached out to lay a hand on his forearm.

"What did Roku say? Did he tell you where to find the first clue?" She asked.

Aang latched on to the question as a way to give him focus; something he could concentrate on, something that would keep him in control.

"That I would find it in the place where I felt the most at home and the least welcomed." Aang frowned, subconsciously beginning to chew his lower lip as he thought. "But I can think of about six places where I felt at home, and even more places I wasn't welcome as a student."

"Well, let's check each one. What are we looking for?" Toph asked as they began to move slowly. She did her best to not let her horror show in her voice; the earth here remembered what had taken place upon its surface a century ago, and she didn't need Aang to ask what it was that disturbed her. Because she was afraid that she would rather hurt him with the truth than with a lie.

"My old bedroom was a place where I felt at home. But there's nothing left of it. The same goes for the flying bison stables, the classrooms, and Gyatso's rooms. The Air Ball courts are intact, for the most part." Aang was speaking more to himself than to her, tone indicating that he was half in the past.

"Then let's start there." Toph said. "By the way, what's Air Ball?"

She knew it was a mistake to ask that almost immediately, as Aang grabbed her arm and began dragging her in a random direction.

"I'm pretty sure it isn't there." Aang panted an hour later. During the course of their game, he had seen pretty much every inch of the Air Ball court firsthand. Toph may not have been an Airbender, but she more than made up for that by making the wooden posts in the court suddenly fly up several feet as the rock was raised. Aang had run into at least six of these posts, a fact that his forehead was now bitterly reminding him of.

"No. But that was fun!" Toph said in a voice that was far too cheerful. _She enjoys injuring me too much, _the young avatar thought.

"I think we're going about this the wrong way. We're only looking at places where you felt at home, or where you weren't welcome. We need to look for one that is both. Think, Twinkle Toes. Isn't there some place like that?" Toph asked

There was an extremely long silence. "I think there might be." Aang said quietly. "The area under the bridge. Where all my friends and I used to play. I taught them some of my favorite moves and we all had a lot of fun. But when I became the Avatar, they didn't want to play with me anymore because I was an "unfair advantage."" There was a trace of old bitterness in his words and again, Toph's heart went out to her friend.

"Where is it?" She asked.

"Follow me." Was all he said.

Together, the two of them combed the area around the bridge. Aang even used his glider to go down and check the cliff's face, and he pried up some of the ancient boards that still made up the bridge. Nothing.

"This is ridiculous. We don't even know what we're _looking _for." Toph stomped her foot in frustration, causing a mini-earthquake. Then she did it again, and again.

"OK, I get it. We should give up." Aang said more snappishly than he intended. _Making this my third and final failure. _

"No, no. There's something different about the rock here. It isn't in its natural position." Toph explained, continuing to prod the spot with her toe.

"Meaning it's been disturbed?" Aang asked.

"Most likely. Only one way to find out." Toph made a kicking motion with her foot, and a piece of rock the size of a dinner plate detached itself from the general formation. Underneath was a layer of soil, which Aang helped Toph bend out of the way.

They unearthed what appeared to be a small, square box, made of some kind of wood. There was a flower that looked like an iris on the top.

"I saw this flower when I dreamt about Roku! This is it!" Aang said excitedly, beginning to pry at the lid. The ancient wood fell apart in his hands.

What was inside was a small, oddly shaped piece of what appeared to be purple stone. Aang twisted it this way and that, trying to figure out what it could possibly be.

"It's a stone of some kind. And I'm not sure what the point of it is. I mean, a stone doesn't tell us anything." He said, frustration coming back.

"Put it in my hand." Toph said, holding one hand out. Aang dropped the oddly shaped stone into it.

Toph was silent for several moments, running her fingers back and forth over the surface. When she spoke, it was with amusement. "Aang."

"Yeah?"

"This is a _puzzle piece." _She held it up and, now that she'd said it, it made perfect sense.

"Oh." He said sheepishly. "So what do we do with it?"

"Check the box. See if you can find any clue as to what we do with the clue."

Aang inspected the pieces of the box carefully, looking for anything he could have missed. He was rewarded when a tiny scroll, the size of his pinky finger, was found in the middle of the iris-type flower.

Carefully, Aang unrolled it, and laughed. "It's a piece of the map to the temple of the fifth element, with the letters 'O' and 'S' on the back." He announced.

"Which means…what, exactly?" Toph asked.

"Oma and Shu, the two lovers who gave Omashu its name. The next clue must have something to do with them. It's somewhere in the tunnels they built, I bet!"

"Just one problem, Aang," Toph cut the eager boy off, "how are we supposed to get into the Earth Nation?"

He answered in true Aang fashion: "Don't worry, we'll find away!" Before zipping off excitedly in the direction of Appa, confidence restored by the finding of the new clue.

Toph shook her head, following at a slower pace, pocketing the strange puzzle piece as she went.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6: Coming

Wow. I know how long this has taken and I am so, _so _sorry that it did!! I've had a hectic few months, what with going off to college and all that.

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to someone else. All recognizable characters, places, et cetera, are someone else's property. I only own the plot lines, the Spirit People, the Spirit Temple, and a few other things.

Beta'd by the wonderful Red Bird!!

I'm not sure how many people will even read this, since I took so long, but here's chapter 6!!

* * *

It hadn't taken Sokka long to figure out that there was a method to the division of the prisoners in the palace's dungeons, more than just by floor: there were four "classes," as he had decided to call them. For each of the levels, there was a class.

The Violent Ones: He rarely saw them. They were kept on the lowest level of the dungeons, deep underground. Their cells were the most heavily guarded, by the best benders that could be spared. His sister had fallen into that group initially. There was no shortage of fighting, swearing, and injury from them. From what he could gather, the Fire Lord was hoping that they would get all of the fight out of their systems.

The Hopeful Ones: A rather broad category, and yet the most distinct: those who hadn't given up on the Avatar yet and were very vocal about the fact that they still had faith in him. They were kept on the next floor up from the violent ones. These were the most poorly treated group: kept in the darkest, smallest cells, often denied food, and on occasion beaten for being too vocal in their support. One lashing had been enough to teach Sokka to keep his identity as the Avatar's companion: _former companion, _the warrior reminded himself: a secret.

The Hopeless Ones: These were the ones that it broke Sokka's heart to see. They huddled in their overcrowded cells, never looking anyone in the eye, never protesting the guards' abuse. They were more shells than living beings. Nothing could rouse them, not even the shouts of the Violent Ones or the jubilant assertions of the Hopeful Ones.

And finally, there was the fourth class: The Unknowns. The ones that the Fire Nation didn't know what to do with: considered too dangerous to ship elsewhere, but not fitting into any of the other categories. Sokka had managed to get himself into this category by keeping his head down and staying quiet. There were many people here who knew him, people who had fought beside him at Boiling Rock or any number of other places along their journey: people whom he had once called friend. They would know his voice in an instant. And so Sokka stayed silent, and got himself in with the Unknowns.

Their lot wasn't so bad: they were fed regularly enough, and they got enough to keep starvation away. They were permitted to walk outside now and again for a few minutes if they didn't make trouble. And they weren't as crammed together as the Hopeful Ones or the Violent Ones.

He had lost track of his sister shortly after they were brought down here. Her attitude and mouth had gotten her thrown in with the Violent Ones. For many nights, Sokka had sat pressed against the wall closest to the stairs, hearing her cursing as he hadn't known she was capable of: cursing Aang, cursing him, cursing herself. But the one that worried him the most, was the cursing of her gift.

In the end, the fight had gone out of her. Limp and docile, her hands bound to keep her from bending, she had been brought to his cell block. Now she sat like one of the Hopeless Ones: against the wall, knees drawn tight to her chest, arms around them, head down and eyes on the floor.

Sokka was scared for her: he was beginning to realize that there was something more wrong with his sister than just anger and disappointment, or even fear. There was something different behind her eyes that he couldn't explain. He knew Zuko worried for her too, but that he kept quiet about it.

Under the pretext of "interrogating him further on the whereabouts of the Avatar and his accomplice," Zuko had Sokka pulled from his cell at least once a week. Sokka kept Zuko informed on the conditions of the prisoners and Katara especially, and Zuko shared what little news of Aang he could gather.

They had last been seen shortly after Sokka's capture. A large white animal: unmistakably Appa: had been seen in the mountains near the Southern Air Temple.

"Nothing new to report," the prince told his friend as the door to his private wing banged shut. Once it had, Zuko dropped the pretext of being a royal interrogating a prisoner: he released Sokka's arm and the two of them sat down across from each other, friends and equals. "No one has seen or heard anything in nearly a month."

Sokka pounded his fist onto the arm of his chair: anger, guilt, and fear made his palms burst into a cold sweat and his heart lodge itself in his throat. No news was worse than bad news. He cursed himself for the thousandth time for his treatment of Aang.

"How is Katara?" Zuko asked in a gentler voice.

"No change," Sokka answered. Zuko nodded in response. The two shared a moment of silent understanding: this was the calm before some kind of storm, either from Katara or from Aang. And if they were going to make their move, it would have to be soon.

"I'll get you out of there," the prince promised his friend, "somehow."

"I know."

There came a scratching sound at the door and the two men exchanged glances.

"Someone's coming," Sokka said flatly.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, eyes trained on the door.

"Guess that means I have to let you tie my hands back up."

"Not just yet," Zuko held up a hand, motioning his friend back into his chair. Sokka's jaw was tight as he obeyed. Zuko understood his anger: even though it was just an act, it hurt Sokka's pride to be treated as a prisoner by his closest friend. Therefore, Zuko postponed the inevitable as long as possible.

"Show time," the prince said softly as he tied his friend's hands behind his back, making the knots as loose as he could without making it obvious.

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka said with a touch of bitterness, "we're prince and prisoner in five…four…three…two…"

When the door swung open, admitting one of Zuko's advisors, Zuko had a harsh expression on his face and he had a tight grip on Sokka's arms.

"You don't want to make an enemy of me, peasant. Next time, I suggest you tell me what I need to know," he said in a hard voice. Sokka didn't respond, except to stomp discreetly on Zuko's foot. The message came through loud and clear:

_Calling me peasant was low, even for you, Zuko._

_

* * *

_"_Avatar Roku, you were right! The clue __**was **__at the Southern Air Temple!" Aang didn't give his predecessor time to speak: he was too thrilled with his discovery to wait. _

_Avatar Roku smiled back at his young reincarnation. "You have done well, Aang. But you must be cautious as you continue your search. All is not as it seems."_

"_I know that going into the Earth Kingdom is dangerous. But what choice do I have? I have to save this world." Aang set his jaw stubbornly. _

"_Be careful, Aang. Keep your friends close at all times." Roku began to fade. _

"_Wait, Roku!" Aang cried desperately, "on the box where I found the clue, there was a flower. What does it mean?" _

"_Remember that all things have their opposites…"_

_

* * *

_Aang opened his eyes and released his breath, slowly relaxing out of the meditative pose he had been in.

"Any luck?" Toph asked. She was lounging against one of their packs, chewing on a branch, and altogether looking more relaxed than she had in days.

"No. He just gave me one more question to answer." Aang answered in a somewhat frustrated voice, using his airbending to stand up and stretch out.

It had been Toph's idea to try to contact Avatar Roku by entering the Avatar State, instead of waiting for a dream to come to him.

"Maybe he'll know something about the weird flowers. Or how to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom," she had said one night when they stopped to make camp.

It was the best idea they had at present, well, more like the only one: if they didn't learn more about the weird flowers, they would never be able to identify them and their search would grind to a halt. Aang was sure that even if they collected all the pieces to the puzzle, the flowers were still essential to finding the spirit temple. Sometimes, but not often, he was able to sense things: to just _know _when something needed to be done. Toph wasn't sure if it was because he was the Avatar, or just because he was Aang, but she had learned not to question his hunches because they were usually right.

"Well, what did he say?" The earthbender asked as she pushed herself to her feet and took three steps to stand next to her friend, who was staring at the ground between his feet with a frustrated look on his face.

"He warned me that I need to keep my friends close because things aren't the way they seem to be," Aang answered at length, "and when I asked him about the flowers, he told me to remember the principle of yin and yang."

"The rule that every thing has an opposite," Toph said thoughtfully, "like the elements."

"Yeah. But does he mean that there is something that is the flower's opposite that will tell us what it is, or that the flower is the opposite of what we need?" Aang made a frustrated noise, "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Toph admitted.

There was a moment of silence in which their breathing seemed deafening. When Aang spoke again, the frustration had vanished from his voice to be replaced by eagerness.

"So I think I might know how to get into the Earth Kingdom," he said, making an effort to sound casual.

"What?" Toph responded nearly as eagerly.

Even though they were the only two people for miles around, he still took a few steps closer, until their shoulders touched, and leaned down to whisper his idea into her ear.

He was so wrapped up in the telling that he missed the faint flush of pink that stained his friend's cheeks as he spoke.

* * *

The next night, the two changed their course: instead of flying east, through land that was mostly farmland, and entering Omashu from its least populated side, they flew north. This course would take them closest to the Fire Nation stronghold of Ba Sing Sei: a move not even Ozai would anticipate. He wouldn't expect the Avatar to fly straight into his hands, or close enough, anyway.

This way would take longer: they were taking a roundabout route to Omashu: but it was likely safer to do so.

Toph's mind was busy most of the night: she was thinking about yin and yang, and what the old story could possibly have to do with the box they had found, its strange inscription, and the puzzle they were attempting to put together.

* * *

For the first time in nearly a century, the chimes jingled in the back room, their brass pipes making a cheery sound.

The woman stood up, careful not to make a sound, and entered the room, moving at once to the large table that was the centerpiece of this room: large enough to be a dance floor, it was surrounded by a complex array of mirrors and, above the center, hung the brass windchimes which were continuing to jingle as she took her position in the center of the table.

Three of the mirrors fogged and, when they cleared, vague female silhouettes were visible within them. The chimes slowly fell silent, only to start up again in a new pattern.

_Our time is coming, _the woman in the center mirror said. Her foggy silhouette became slightly sharper, holding her listeners' attention._ We will soon be needed. Mother Placida, you will be the first to encounter them and you must be ready. _

_Understood, _the woman thought, and she knew that, wherever her correspondents were, chimes would be jingling her response.

_We must be discreet, and always, we must protect the secret as we have done for millennia. It is our sacred duty to safeguard the secret above all else, _the center mirror said, and the chimes that were their primary method of communication jangled more loudly, showing her urgency.

_Understood, _the other three thought once more.

The conversation did not last long, but it was more than enough. The woman slowly climbed down from her table and returned to the front room with much to think about.

The time was coming when the secret would be a secret no longer. Like her mother before her, she had safeguarded the secret all of her life. Now, it would be her duty to bring it back to the world by helping the Avatar.

For the first time in hundreds of years, the Yin would once more assist the Yang from the shadows. White and Black would once more join forces to save the world they both protected.

_Let us hope that this time, we succeed. _

_

* * *

_Sorry this is like...major suckage. I just need to get back into the swing of things. Ch. 7 will be better _and _longer!! I promise I won't take as long, either!!


	7. Chapter 7: Chime

So…again I took longer to update than I wanted to…I'm so sorry!! *bows* I was having some trouble figuring out where I wanted the story to go. Now that I've figured it out, updates will be much faster!

Please remember though that I am a college student, taking more hours than I should be, and am at the mercy of my professors.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything except the storyline, original characters, and original places. Anyone and anything recognizable is the property of someone who is not me.

Beta'd by The Red Bird, who gets an extra big thank-you for helping me get the story going again. I love you!

Hopefully I still have some readers out there!!

* * *

In an undisclosed location, a tall woman stood poised as if listening: her back was straight, one leg slightly in front of the other, her hip jutted slightly to the side, covered by her hand. Her other arm hung loose at her side and beneath her hood, her head was cocked to one side as if something ahead was vaguely intriguing.

Her attire was most unusual: a deep burgundy robe made of some sort of cotton material, embroidered at the neck, down the sides, around the lower hem, down the sleeves and around the wrists, and around the hood that covered her head in heavy gold thread. The embroidery formed a zigzag pattern. The sleeves covered her fingers and the hood came forward to veil her face in shadow. Her feet were bare beneath the long garment, which covered her completely.

She stood upon a low table: as big as a dance floor, it was inscribed in a complex, circular pattern. At the center was the symbol of her ancient order: the iris within the five-pointed star, both within a circle. Running around the edge of the table was a lead-lined trench used to ground the elements. Right now, it contained all four: water-soaked earth upon which a fire burned, the tops of the flames stirred by a light, unexplainable breeze. As long as she stayed on the table, she was protected by a boundary created by the locking together of the four elements. Nothing could disturb what she was about to do.

The woman took a deep breath in and began to dance in a complicated pattern upon the table's golden wood surface. Her footsteps were light, practiced: something she had rehearsed many hundreds of times. Her toes just brushed each of the petals of the iris, the points of the star: the movements carried her around the edge of the circle that bound them all.

As her steps become more dramatic, she lifted her arms. Heat poured from her in shimmering waves, though no flames followed it. The hot air struck the complex array of brass wind chimes hanging on all four walls of the room that housed the table. At once a variety of sounds began to fill the room: deep gonging sounds from the lower pipes, high, cheery little noises from the smaller. All of the women of her order could use the chimes to communicate with one another, but none with more skill than those of her element and those trained by her: she was Mother Phyrgia, one of the Five Great Mothers of the order. The chimes could not be set ringing without the heat of her inner fire providing the means.

* * *

Far away, another woman stood upon a similar table, similarly dressed. Unlike her counterpart, however, her robe was pale blue and embroidered with white, though the embroidery was in the same pattern. She stood upon a table carved of pure white stone. Around her hung light wind chimes made of hollowed animal bone. As they began to tremble, she too began to dance upon the table's surface, sending waves of air out to strike the chimes into the proper pattern. She was Mother Ceres, the next of the Five Great Mothers.

* * *

In another corner of the world, a woman in a pale green robe with pink embroidery in the same pattern as her fellows danced the steps so long familiar to her, but never used. With her gracefully swaying arms, bits of stone rose from their places, striking the copper chimes hanging throughout the room in which she worked. She was Mother Placida.

* * *

Another woman, in a deep sapphire robe embroidered with bright emerald green in the zigzag pattern like the others, stood upon a table overlaid with mother of pearl. Her movements sent the chimes of ice around her ringing as she had not dared to make them do for over a century. She was Mother Antilla.

* * *

A final woman was the last to begin her steps. Her robe was a deep purple edged with darkest black zigzagging lines. She stood upon a table formed of black volcanic glass. Her movements opened the channels of communication the rest of the way. She was Mother Isanaka, the oldest of the Five Great Mothers of her order.

* * *

Around the world, the women stopped their dances when the channels opened. Hanging among the chimes in their rooms were mirrors of various sizes. Five of them, the largest, were arranged in a vaguely star-like pattern around a central mirror. In these mirrors, the shadowy forms of their fellow Mothers appeared. The Council had begun. Now one at a time would dance: her movements would ring the chimes, and the message would be repeated by the chimes of her sisters. In this way had their order always communicated.

_The time has come to end our sleeping-time, _Mother Isanaka's message said through the chimes. _We must reestablish our old contacts. Build up our old network so that when the time comes, we can do what we are meant to do. _

The chimes rang assent from the other Mothers. Mother Phyrgia began another complicated series of steps, arms upraised to send the heat out to the chimes which needed to sound in order to ring out her message.

_We have grown too small, _she said, _we do not have our former strength. And we have no way to increase our numbers without arousing suspicion. _

_We do not need our old strength to have our old connections, _Mother Placida responded. _Those are more important now than how many sisters and novices we have in our service. _

_I agree, _came the voice of Mother Antilla. _Our Motherhouses have been closed for a century. We must use what strength we have to accomplish our task. If we succeed, we can rebuild our old strength then. _

_How are we supposed to accomplish the task with so few of us? _Mother Phyrgia, always quick to challenge Mother Antilla, demanded.

_We will find a way, _gentle Mother Ceres was always quick to diffuse the tension between the others. _We always have. _

_Yes, _Mother Isanaka confirmed, _we have, and we must this time. For this time the situation is most dire. We must reestablish our old connections, and quickly. If we do that, it may lead to an increase in our numbers. Do you still remember the old channels? _

There was a chorus of affirmatives.

_Begin there. Seek out our old allies. Make them our friends again. Warn them that we must stand together in what is coming. Reach out to our white brethren, but only when the time is right. _

_Yes, Mother Isanaka, _the other four chorused respectfully.

_Our sleeping-time is at an end, _Mother Isanaka repeated her earlier statement. _We must resume our old tasks. _

_I am the broom, _Mother Ceres began the old chant of their order, _I sweep in information and organize it. _

_I am the pestle, _Mother Phyrgia continued, _I break down what is needed and make it new. _

_I am the mortar, _Mother Placida said next, _I am the stone bowl which cradles us all. _

_I am the pen, _came Mother Antilla, _I keep our records for the benefit of us all. _

_I am the ink. I preserve our memories for our future sisters, _finished Mother Isanaka. _Together we have kept this secret safe and now we will see its care safely into the right hands. Blessed be, my sisters. _

_Blessed be. _

Each woman repeated her dance in reverse, as well as in reverse order: Mother Isanaka closed the communication channels, Mother Antilla restored the ice to its place, Mother Placida allowed the rocks to fall, Mother Ceres dismissed the wind, and finally, Mother Phyrgia called the heat back to herself. At the end of their dance, the chimes fell silent.

The five carefully hid the evidence of what they had done and returned to the lives they usually led, in which they had not even met one another. But they did it now with secret smiles on their faces: they had taken up the mantle of their mothers and grandmothers, and so many other women before them. Together, they would bring the secret they had safeguarded back to the world.

* * *

"You little she-devil!" One of the guards snarled. It was nearly midnight and he had removed the bonds on Katara's arms so that she could drink some water. She had wasted no time in making a whip out of it and giving him a good slash across the face with it.

Sokka tried to remove himself from the situation as his sister shrieked obscenities in a way he still couldn't believe. These night fits were getting worse and worse. During the day, Katara was perfectly docile, but at night, she became a monster.

"Heal it," the guard commanded.

Katara resisted at first, but a few burns convinced her. She healed the slash and held relatively still as she was re-bound and unceremoniously dropped to the floor. She turned her back, facing the wall.

Sokka felt his heart breaking. His sister truly seemed to be losing it a little more each day. He didn't want her going insane in some Fire Nation prison, but that was what was happening.

* * *

"Come in," Zuko called in response to a knocking at his door. The man who appeared was a familiar sight: an ancient, wizened old man, carrying a scroll beneath one arm and wearing a white robe trimmed in gold at the edges. His name was Zhang, and he was the keeper of expenses for the royal family. Normally he did not bother with Zuko, unless: and Zuko had a feeling this was the case: his father refused to listen.

"Your Highness," the man executed a surprisingly graceful bow. Zuko waved a hand, indicating that he could rise. Zhang made his way over to a table meant for exactly this purpose and began unrolling the scrolls he carried. Once they had been weighted open, Zuko made his way over to look at what could possibly be troubling him so.

"These are the figures for what we normally face in expenses," Zhang pointed with one bony finger, "and this is what we face housing, feeding, clothing, and guarding so many prisoners. We need a solution."

Zuko's mind processed the numbers and began to work quickly. Financial trouble was a perfect excuse to implement the idea he had been working on all of this time. All of the money that could be spared, was being spared: every bit of it was needed for his father's campaign.

"Thank you for informing me," he said slowly, "I believe I know just the solution."

* * *

The next week he took the idea to his father.

"Instead of wasting our men, our supplies, and our money on such lowlifes, we should make them do it themselves. Find out from the guards which ones can be trusted. Have them do all of the cooking for their fellows, the washing, even some of the patrols. They're prisoners, so they don't need wages."

"I highly doubt they will work for free," his father did sound like he was considering the idea, which was a good sign, "what do you suggest?"

"Privileges," Zuko affected a haughty, almost disgusted air. "Promise them extra food, or time outside, or some such thing. They are simple creatures, father. Easy to predict and easy to manage."

"Very well," the Fire Lord said at length. "You are in charge, Prince Zuko." There was an unspoken threat behind the words: _and you will be the one to pay if it fails. _

_

* * *

_"That one," Zuko said carelessly, pointing to Sokka. He was overseeing the selection of their new 'trusted' workers. "He looks able-bodied enough to handle some of the larger tasks."

The prince carefully avoided his friend's eye as he passed, though he managed to slip a note into Sokka's pocket as the Water Tribe teen was roughly pulled out of his cell and lined up with the others who would be doing patrol duties. He moved on down the line, looking every inch the haughty prince to those around him.

* * *

Sokka waited until the guard in front of him had turned his back and then he pulled the scrap of paper out of his pocket.

_Corridor D, as soon as the second shift changes. _

The second shift changed around three in the morning. Corridor D was near where Katara had been kept initially. He tried not to look at the limp, bound form of his sister as he followed the guards. Her violent episodes were getting worse, especially at night. It was only a matter of time before she was thrown back down there.

* * *

That night found him wondering if staying in his cell might not have been a good thing after all. He had been dressed in scratchy Fire Nation clothing and he had been walking up and down the silent corridors for hours now. Unlike the paid guards, there was no break requirement for prisoner patrolmen. He had been on his feet since sundown and he was beginning to feel exhausted.

As he passed one of the barred windows, he caught sight of the full moon, hanging full and swollen in the sky. It comforted him, as it did everyone from the Water Tribe. Feeling much more optimistic, he turned a corner.

He was back in his own cell block now: it all seemed quiet, except for the light shuddering of the torches and an odd, skritch-skritch sound. That was out of place. Sokka went looking for the source: if someone had something metal, it might mean they could pick the lock. Not that he had any intention of stopping them, he just wanted to know.

The light from one of the torches illuminated multiple sleeping figures. However, one figure was not asleep. In the pale pool of light from the moon, coming down through one of the high windows, knelt Katara. She was making odd, pinching motions with her fingers. In front of her, there was a rat, moving in a way that rats weren't capable of: it was twisting and pirouetting and doing some type of strange dance.

It took Sokka a minute to realize that he wasn't hallucinating from fatigue, and another minute or so to accept what it was he was seeing: he had thought tonight was a good night because Katara hadn't started screaming and cursing. Now he realized that he was wrong: his sister was bloodbending the rat.

Involuntarily he moved forward a few steps. To do what? To stop her? In any case, the noise at least brought her head up. Sokka had to bite his lip against a scream when he saw how she looked. Her face was gaunt: she hadn't been eating, he remembered vaguely: her long hair was in disarray, sticking out around her in matted clumps. But the worst part was her eyes: they almost looked like a little girl's as they regarded him with amusement. But there was no recognition in them: no sign that she knew that this was her brother in front of her. Worst of all, there were no traces of sanity left. Her gaze was utterly insane.

A little smile lifted the corners of her lips and she tilted her head to one side, as though he were a vaguely interesting problem she was trying to figure out. She looked so like a child, and so wrong. Sokka felt his stomach begin to heave.

She gave a girlish giggle. "The rats are dancing with me," she said. Meanwhile, the rat gave a final shriek of pain. Katara's fingers twitched and it fell, neck broken.

Sokka turned and ran, deep into the lower levels of the prison. In a dark corner he crumpled, emptying the contents of his stomach.

* * *

By the time he made it to Corridor D to meet Zuko he had convinced himself that he must have seen wrong, or imagined it, or _something_. It wasn't Katara. It was someone who looked like her. Katara could never do something like that.

Still, instead of telling Zuko about it, he found himself staying silent. Some part of him knew that he hadn't seen wrong. And that part of him also knew he had to protect his little sister, whatever she had become.

A lone guard stood at the other end of the corridor. As Sokka approached he reached up, took off his helmet, and became the prince.

"Posing as a guard in your own palace?" Sokka managed to tease, and sound relatively normal, despite the fact that his mind was going a hundred miles a second.

"Yes," Zuko answered. "We don't have much time. I think I know how to get you out of here."

* * *

"No," Toph said firmly. She crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet, taking a determined stance.

In front of her, Aang was wearing a pleading face, even though she couldn't see it. "But-" he began.

"-_No, _Aang. I am _not _putting Appa's fur on my head and pretending to be an old woman!" She exclaimed, cutting him off.

"But it worked before!" Aang said in his best plaintive voice. "And besides, we have no other ideas to work with!"

"Well I'm not doing that!"

* * *

Not far away, a small transport ship ground roughly to a halt against the sand of a beach. Two exhausted, slightly wobbly teenage girls made their way off it.

"I could kiss the ground!" Ty Lee exclaimed. She was still very green in the face and breathing hard. "Who would have thought piloting those things was so much work?"

Mai didn't answer: the warden of Boiling Rock's daughter looked no different, except perhaps a little thinner. No sign that she had spent the last several weeks attempting to pilot a ship meant for an eight-man crew into harbor with just one other person.

They had been discovered on their fourth day out. When the crew caught sight of their faces, everyone realized who they were and that they had escaped from Boiling Rock.

"Forget turning around. Just kill them," the captain had snapped.

Thankfully Mai had still had her stilettos and Ty Lee hadn't been so badly motion sick that she couldn't defend them. The crew had gone down easily. The only thing they hadn't thought about was what they would do after the crew died.

They had run out of fuel nearly a week ago and been at the mercy of the current. Thankfully there had been enough food to last them, and Ty Lee knew how to extract the salt from seawater to make it safe to drink. Now they were both relieved that their ordeal was over: one very vocally so.

"I will never take a boat again!" Ty Lee declared as she raised herself up from the sand.

Mai didn't respond to that either. "Come on," she said in a flat voice. "We need to get away from here."

They had no idea where they were, but they knew that cover was better than just standing here on an open beach. So they walked –rather shakily- into the thick woods surrounding the beach.

* * *

They had only gone a few miles when they heard voices: annoyingly familiar voices, Mai noted.

"But it worked before! And besides, we have no other ideas to work with!" Came the Avatar's voice.

"Well I'm not doing that!" Snapped a girl: the earthbender, Mai thought. The blind one.

She and Ty Lee exchanged glances and it became clear that they were thinking the same thing.

They approached the two slowly, both silently praying that this wasn't _another _stupid mistake.

The earthbender heard them coming, or so Mai assumed: both she and the Avatar were in fighting stances when she and Ty Lee approached.

"What do you want?" The little boy asked, sounding half angry, half resigned. "To capture me?"

"No," Mai answered simply.

Ty Lee, blabbermouth that she was, took over at that point. She began explaining what had happened: how they had betrayed Azula at Boiling Rock and how someone had helped them escape.

"Um…would you mind telling us where we are?" The acrobat finished by asking.

* * *

"In the Earth Kingdom," Toph answered flatly, "near Omashu." The blind girl shifted her weight, indicating how uncomfortable she was with the current situation.

Now Aang was the one who explained their situation: he had learned enough from Toph and the others not to reveal _why _they needed to get into Omashu, just that they needed to.

Mai's lip twitched just slightly as if she had, for a fraction of a second, considered smiling.

"I have a plan."

* * *

"State your business," a guard in Fire Nation livery ordered. They were on the outskirts of Omashu.

Mai, now clean and dressed in fairly elegant Fire Nation clothing, lifted her chin imperiously.

"I am Tachibana Mai, official ambassador to the royal family. This is my sister, Suzu. We have been sent to hear the complaints of the colonies and to report them to those who will address them." She answered.

Aang and Ty Lee, both dressed in plain brown garb, played the part of servants to the 'ambassadors.' They kept their heads demurely down and their eyes lowered.

It really was incredible how much alike Mai and Toph looked: both were pale-skinned, had dark hair, and no one could say for sure if Toph's eyes wouldn't be the same color as Mai's if she wasn't blind.

The guard didn't even look twice at them: he waved the party by.

"Report to the palace. Someone will see to your lodgings." He said boredly: they were no longer his problem.

Aang and Toph could have jumped for joy when they made it to the palace: they were in the city!

* * *

"Now what?" Ty Lee asked as they settled into the inn they would be staying in.

The Avatar and his companion hesitated.

"It's not like we'll tell the Fire Nation," Mai snapped, "or did you forget we're wanted too?"

She had a point. After one of their many silent conferences, the two agreed that they needed allies.

"We need to get into the Cave of the Lovers," Aang said at length. "There's something there that I need to find."

At their curious glances, he and Toph took turns explaining the story of the dreams Aang had had and the task they now faced: finding and restoring the Fifth Element.

"If we can't do that, then the Fire Nation rules for the rest of eternity," Toph finished flatly.

Mai didn't comment, though Ty Lee was already asking a million questions. She was trying to figure out why this seemed like something she should remember.

* * *

Like I said, I swear my updates will actually be faster now! I know where the story is going!

I hope you all enjoyed the twist I threw in with Mai and Ty Lee becoming Aang's allies! I really enjoyed writing it!

Please review! Clue #2 will be in the next chapter and I'll be more encouraged if I get at least one review!

Thanks for reading! ^_^


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